3A-10 district baseball: CCC completes another rally

CLEARWATER — Clearwater Central Catholic’s Seth Paitsel carries himself with a quiet confidence. The catcher went 0-for-3 in his last outing against Berkeley Prep and wanted to make amends against rival Tampa Catholic on Thursday night.

Down 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner on first, Paitsel did the unthinkable.

“I wanted to get it in the gap like I normally do and I got it up in the air and I was hoping I got it out,” Paitsel said.

There was no questioning the ball went out.

For the second game in a row CCC came back, defeating Tampa Catholic 9-8 on Paitsel’s walk-off bomb to leftfield, securing its second consecutive Class 3A, District 10 title.

The Marauders started slowly, pulling starting pitcher Charlie Lamar after 41/3 innings. He allowed two runs in the first and one in the second.

Tampa Catholic’s JC Prado lined a two-run single to centerfield, extending the Crusaders’ lead to 5-2 through three. They crossed home plate once more in the fourth.

“When we were down by four, I told them we have to keep chipping away,” CCC coach Todd Vaughan said. “We can still win in the seventh.”

Down 8-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Benny Mendizabal drove Paitsel home from third. With two on and two out, Steven Arango took a 3-1 pitch from reliever Keith Garcia and crushed it for a three-run home run.

“I’ve never hit a home run and it was pretty awesome,” said Arango who finished 2-for-3 with a walk.

CCC’s David Slattery pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing Paitsel his shining moment.

“These kids are great. They just keep fighting and fighting,” said Vaughan. “They believe in themselves and they don’t get down.”

Teams in post

• Clearwater Central Catholic High School
• Tampa Catholic High School